Background: Negative attitude of interns toward psychiatry has been highlighted by multiple studies all over the world and there has been significant educationabout mental illnesses at various stages of under graduation in the recent times. The objective of this study is to identify the situation in this region by studyingthe attitude of interns toward various areas of psychiatry and to study the gender differences if any. Objectives and Methodology: Aim was to assess the attitude of medical interns towards psychiatry and to know the gender differences in the attitude. This was a cross-sectional study. Participants consisted of interns working in aprivate medical college and hospital. Subjects weregiven specially designed socio-demographic proforma and ATP-30 questionnaire which is a five-point attitude scale for assessing the attitude. The data collected was analyzed with the help of SPSS version 16. Result: The sample consisted of 84 subjects of which 34 were males and 50 were females. In total, 90.5%(n=76) subjects reported to have positive attitude towards psychiatry. Female interns had more positive attitude than male. Conclusion: Even though the interns overall shared a positive attitude towards psychiatry.Adequate modification is still required in the existing medical curriculum by encouraging more exposure to the subject. More number teaching sessions is very much essential for improving the attitude of tomorrow’s doctors towards psychiatrists and mental illnesses so to fight stigma and eventually promote the human rights of the mentally ill.

Keywords: Interns; Mental Disorders; Psychiatry; Social Stigma.